I felt bad making the nurse such a bitch last chapter, so I decided to make it up this chapter. Not with the nurse, she's a lost cause.
Aizawa silently opened Izumi's drawers. He grabbed a few shirts, shirts he would often see Izumi wearing the most of, and he quietly packed them away into a suitcase. He already knew what the drill was, after all this wasn't the first student he had to send away. Tucking some hair behind his ear, Aizawa sighed as he thought for a moment. He had her some underwear packed, shirts, pants, a couple of shorts…
Aizawa sighed as he looked for suitable pajama pants for Izumi. None with drawstrings, of course, and the sleeping shorts are a little too short for the nurses liking. No, Aizawa knew Izumi had a pair of yellow colored All Might themed sleeping pants that had no drawstring. She wore them all the time, but he just couldn't find it. He even checked her hamper.
So, he settled on another pair of silver colored All Might themed Pajama bottoms and he just took the drawstring out. "Oh-" Aizawa grumbled when the drawstring slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor by her bed. Putting the bottoms on top of the suitcase, Aizawa bent down to grab the drawstring- and something under the bed had caught his eye.
It was a white plastic bag. Reaching fully under the bed, Aizawa pulled the bag out and opened it.
"An unopened box of tampons, a box of saltines opened- those are probably stale by now- burn cream, she got burnt? And a 96 count of maxim strength sleeping aids." Aizawa scowled at this as he looked at the burn cream tube. It was opened and slightly squeezed in the middle. 'Oh, problem child.' He shook his head. This was something he was going to have to ask her about whenever she woke.
'a receipt.' He saw the paper and he pulled it. Not really caring what was bought, he just wanted to see the date. 'Last Sunday."
Aizawa let out a slow sigh and looked under the bed to see if there was anything else she may have been hiding. That was when he saw it. A glimpse of yellow. Getting down a little lower to the ground, he found what he had been looking for. Yellow colored sleeping pants. With light red simplistic drawings of All Might's face dotted all over the pants for decoration. "What are you doing down here?" Aizawa wondered out loud. He reached over and grabbed the pants; dragging them out from under the bed.
The hero part of him took over, and Aizawa turned the pants overlooking for any defaults. They didn't look out of place, no tears, rips, or torn seams. 'These were thrown under the bed. They were touching the wall, so it wasn't an accident.' Aizawa narrowed his eyes. 'She wanted them out of her sight, but didn't want to throw them away…'
Aizawa suddenly swallowed; a heavy weight on his shoulders. He had a theory about why Izumi kept these hidden away and he didn't like it.
You try to jump out of a window, have a drastic panic attack, and punch a doctor right in the face and suddenly you're 'unstable.' and need to be sedated and tied down to the bed with cuffs. At least, that's what the doctor had told Izumi once she finally woke from her medically induced coma. Nobody was allowed to see her and she wasn't to leave the room (or bed) until she talked with a specialist.
This doctor staring her down was close to All Might's age. He was short, slightly pudgy, with balding brown hair, he had a brown mustache draped over his lips, with tiny little brown eyes to match his hair.
"Look…" Izumi would rub her tired eyes if she could, but the cuffs wouldn't allow her to move her arms up that far. The doctor sat in front of her on a chair, one leg crossed over the other, with a raised eyebrow. This wasn't the same doctor she punched, at least Izumi didn't think so. "I'm sorry, okay. But can you please just uncuff me? I'm fine-"
"You're a flight risk, that's what you are."
"That's just mean."
The doctor gave her a wry smile. "But you know I'm right. The cuffs don't come off until we get a psychologist here to talk to you."
"Can I at least have some water, please?"
The doctor sighed and looked at his watch. He then pushed himself up. "Fine. What kind of juice do you want?"
Izumi blinked. "I asked for water."
"I know." The doctor smiled. "But you want juice."
Izumi pouted a little. "Is it your quirk?"
"Clever. Yes, my quirk isn't that impressive, not like your super strength. Basically, when someone asks for something, I can tell what they really want. You asked for water, but you wanted juice. Which is probably best for you anyways. Judging by your chart here: You need the sugar."
Izumi bowed her head a little. "I just didn't want to bother you…"
"... It's no bother, Ms. Midoriya. Anyways. Juice options: We got cranberry, grape, apple, or orange."
Izumi felt like a toddler when she quietly requested apple juice.
"Alright, I'll be back."
The doctor left and Izumi sighed deeply, letting her head fall back onto the pillows. 'How did it get this far… how could I let it get this far?' Izumi was alone with her thoughts now. She hated it. Her thoughts… they were… not pleasant. 'How could I be so… stupid! I shouldn't have stopped when mom entered. I should have just pushed myself out- what are you saying!? Listen to yourself! Stop just stop!'
Izumi swallowed hard and wished she wasn't tied down. She wanted nothing more than to pull at her hair and scalp, but she supposed that's why they decided to keep her hands restrained.
'Sometimes I wonder if I should have just taken that swan dive off of the roof that day Kacchan told me to.' Izumi wondered before shaking her head. 'No. Of course not. I never would have gotten One for All. I never would have gotten this great opportunity to train, to be what I always dreamed of. To eventually be a hero!... so… why do I want to die?'
"You're in luck!" The doctor happily poked his head into the doorway. He then flashed two juice boxes to Izumi with a smile. One with an apple on it the other with a bunch of grapes. "We had extras!" He beamed.
The doctor shuffled back in, sat down in his chair before scooting up close to Izumi. He ripped the straw off of the package and stabbed the apple juice carton. He then brought it to Izumi's mouth.
Of course, Izumi had been spoonfed before. When she broke her body fighting Muscular was a good place to start. But this was different. She wasn't broken! She shouldn't need assistance drinking juice!
"This is so degrading…" Izumi mumbled but accepted the offer. She then started to suck down on the juice box. At first it was just a small sip, but before she knew it the whole carton was emptied. All that could be heard was the slurping of the straw as it only picked up bits of juice left.
"O-Okay. It's empty-" The doctor literally had to yank the straw from her mouth to get her to stop. "Good thing I picked this other one- I mean… good thing we had extra juice."
"You're not good at this 'acting' thing are you?" Izumi smiled as the Doctor put the empty carton in the trash.
"There's a reason I'm a doctor-" The Doctor poked the straw through the grape juice. "-And not on the big screen, my dear." He smiled and brought the straw to her lips. "Do drink this one a little more slowly. We can't have it going down the wrong pipe."
Izumi did just as instructed. She actually got to taste the drink this time around. It tasted… like artificial grapes. But god, if it wasn't the first good thing she tasted in a while. 'When was the last time I ate or drank something?' She had wondered.
"...There's a good girl." The doctor smiled as he brought the empty carton away from her.
Izumi sighed in relief before sinking back into her pillows. "...Thank you." She finally said. "I had no clue how… thirsty I was."
"I would imagine. It was more than thirst. Hunger, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, on top of thirst. As I said, you needed the sugar… Ms. Midoriya can I ask-"
"Please, call me Izumi or just Midoryia. You make me sound like my mother."
"Midoriya."
"Thank you."
"Midoriya, I'm happy to talk to you. While we wait for the psychologist. I mean it says here you have Anorexia-nervosa and Bulimia-nervosa."
"I don't…" Izumi sighed softly and wished she could move her hands. "I…I may have Bulimia… but I don't have Anorexia."
"That's not what your file says."
"Anorexia is described as the fear of gaining weight with a distorted perception of weight. That's not me. I just can't eat without vomiting whatever comes into my mouth…"
"The fact that you knew that by heart is…concerning. Almost like you've been researching the topic…"
Izumi rolled her eyes. "May have looked it up to see if maybe it was what I had… but it's not. I bet my classmates told you that I had Anorexia, right?" Izumi tilted her head. "Or they told a teacher that? Well, news flash, a lot of people think just not eating is just anorexia. If I have any eating disorder sir, it's bulimia. Which fits with what's happening with me by the way."
The doctor smiled. "Jeez, I don't know how your teacher puts up with you. You're such a smartass." He then chuckled.
"I've been told my mouth will get me in trouble one day." Izumi couldn't help but smile right back at him.
Still, the elder doctor sighed. "You're such a pretty girl, one working to be a hero, why worry about your weight of all things?"
"I'm not really worried about my weight. It was never about my weight, I just… eating has become… a chore to me. If I can eat I just feel sick afterward and the idea of eating makes me… want to vomit."
"I see. Do you… binge eat at all? Binge a whole bunch of food and throw it all up?"
Izumi shook her head. "I can hardly eat two crackers, sir, what makes you think I can binge eat?"
"...Oh…oh. Dear. Sweetie, dear…" The doctor shook his head. "Your chart is all wrong. From what you told me you don't have an eating disorder… well… you do, but not those. This sounds more akin to… PTSD…" The doctor stared at her chart for a few moments with a prominent frown on his face.
Izumi just shrugged at this. "It wouldn't surprise me. I mean just in the past year I've been through… so much." Izumi tried to laugh like it was all one big joke, but the doctor wasn't laughing. "...Too much… really." She could only stare up at the ceiling, but more than anything, Izumi wanted to bring her knees to her chest.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Izumi swallowed hard and she shook her head softly. "No."
"Izumi. That's not what you want."
"I hate your quirk." She whispered, turning her head away from him. "..." Izumi bit her lip before shaking her head. "I… talking about it is hard."
"Yes, it is, that's what we like to call a hurdle. Once you get over the first one the rest are easy to jump over."
Izumi licked her increasingly dry lips and she felt her eyes go misty "..."
"..."
The doctor sighed and scooted closer to her. He then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out another juice packet. "You're going to get me in trouble with all these juice boxes." He said before poking a straw through the top and bringing it to her mouth. "Don't cry. You'll dehydrate yourself…"
Izumi hesitated but eventually sipped the juice. It was orange juice.
"I'm not trying to push you, my dear, it's just… you're so young and I don't like having children in my ward."
Izumi broke away from the juice box. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. We want to help you- I want to help you."
Izumi swallowed hard again, sucked in a deep breath, and took one last sip from the juice box for good luck. "...It started with USJ… but the biggest one was the Training camp…"
Aizawa and Toshinori both sat in a small waiting room. The only sound between the two of them was the clock on the wall that ticked by slowly. Right now they were in a private waiting room, sitting at a table just staring at each other.
Finally, after an eternity, the door opened.
Before either male got the chance to stand; in the doctor came. Dr. Wada slapped a file down on the desk with a loud 'thwap!' "Her file is wrong. Izumi does not have Anorexia or Bulimia. It's an eating disorder caused by PTSD. A trauma response. She doesn't care about keeping a low weight. She physically can not bring herself to eat."
"Yes, we came to this conclusion yesterday." Aizawa rubbed his temples. "I already made arrangements for the psychiatric hospital. They help with stuff like this better than we at UA can…"
"Yeah… question, Aizawa?" Dr. Wada ran his chubby fingers around his mouth. "Where are Izumi's transcripts with Hound-dog? I remember specifically asking for those."
"There were none-"
"There were none!" Dr. Wada yelled back at Aizawa, slamming his fist into the table. "That girl is sitting strapped to a bed because neither of you- her teachers- pushed for therapy with Hound-dog!"
"Whoa, do not turn this around on us-" Toshinori stood and Dr. Wada whipped his head around fast. "Izumi knew that Hound-dog's door was open-"
"-Izumi didn't want to ask for juice! She was afraid it'd bother me! You cannot- I repeat- cannot leave it up to the student to decide if they want therapy or not! You two have to know how this girl is by now. You have to know she doesn't open up easily to people! With people like Izumi you have to push them to talk about their feelings with a shrink if you don't-... well then they get horrible PTSD and you won't know until they try to jump out a window."
Dr. Wada shook his head before scoffing out and scuffing his foot against the floor. "That girl is hurting. Physically and mentally. I…I asked her… you know? I said: 'Izumi, I want to know. What made you want to kill yourself?' Do you two know what she said next?"
Aizawa and Toshinori both looked at each other before shaking their heads.
The good doctor licked his lips. "She laughed and said: Well, It was only a matter of time, I think, but truthfully. I just woke up and said, I don't want to be alive anymore."
"So, I asked her. I said: How do you feel now? Surely you want to be alive now, right?... and this sweet-faced fifteen-year-old child! Looked me dead in the eyes and said: 'If you didn't have me cuffed right now… I think I would try again, but probably not out of the window.' I want you two to think about that."
Dr. Wada was nice enough to turn the TV on for Izumi. To help her pass the time. Izumi asked for the news, he put on cartoons. Izumi hated to admit it, she was happy to have the bouncy happy distraction. Even if she was cuffed to the bed. At least she wasn't alone with her thoughts; the tv allowed her ever-speaking mind to shut off for at least a little while.
Over time, when the first episode ended and the second episode of the same cartoon started; she started to drift off.
Her slumber didn't last long. The door opened and she instantly sat up, her eyes wide as she whipped her head towards the door.
Mr. Aizawa poked his head through the door.
They stared at each other.
Izumi tried her hardest to slink into the mattress. She wished more than anything that she had Hagakure's quirk right now. "... can I come in?" Mr. Aizawa finally said after a while.
Izumi lightly moved her cuffs to prove a point. "I can't exactly stop you, Mr. Aizawa."
Aizawa snorted. "How can you still be a smartass?" He then strolled in; hands shoved deep into his pockets.
"Deprecating humor just comes naturally."
Aizawa grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the side of Izumi's bed. He then plopped down and sighed out a deep and tired sigh. He looked even more tired than usual. The bags under his eyes had bags of their own. His eyes were so black it almost looked like both of his eyes had been punched. Aizawa rubbed his face tiredly. "Problem Child, there's no easy way to start this conversation, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I know."
"I had a feeling… Todoroki?"
"Nope."
"Ochaco?"
"Try again."
"Damn, Denki."
"Nope. Your mother."
Izumi blinked as the words soaked into her brain. "Mom knows?" Her voice choked up and she swallowed hard.
"Yes. Izumi, I'm going to tell you something disturbing." Aizawa leaned forward so his arms were on his knees.
"Mr. Aizawa, I think I can handle it."
"Fujiwara had a camera on him, and you aren't his first victim."
Izumi's lips became dry within seconds, her stomach churned, and she felt cold all over. "A… camera… meaning…"
"Yes. and no, I didn't watch. Toshinori couldn't bring himself to watch, your mother unfortunately did watch. She did so by accident, from what I understand."
Izumi thought she was going to vomit up the three juice boxes she drank. "How'd… how'd she find it?"
"A flash drive hidden in her nightstand."
"That sick fucker!" Izumi will only say this once: She was glad she was currently quirkless. She was pretty sure that outburst might have caused one of her quirks to activate. "It's not bad enough he- he- he-" Izumi gnashed her teeth as she found forming words hard. She was suddenly having a better understanding of Hound Dog. "I hate him… I never said this about anybody, but I-I hate him!" Seething white-hot rage burned through Izumi's veins at that moment.
"A logical response… Izumi. We need to talk about what's going to happen after you've been released from this place."
"I'll tell you what's going to happen. I'm going to find Fujiwara and curb stomp his ass into next week-"
"-No. You're not. Midoriya. I can't turn my back on this. You've been raped, and you succeeded in jumping from a window, you almost died, Izumi. If your mother hadn't gotten to you-..." Aizawa looked away from her, rubbing his hands over both of his eyes now. "I… would have been upset to receive that phone call. That is all I'm going to say on that."
Izumi blinked as her mind processed what Aizawa had just told her. She didn't know what to say. So, she opted to just stay silent.
Aizawa sucked in a slow and deep breath. "Midoriya. I made a mistake… several actually." Aizawa mumbled the last part before rubbing at his forehead. "My first and biggest mistake has to be giving you an option when it came to therapy. I can no longer give you an option. You're going to therapy… once you come back to UA that is."
"I… I understand why, it's just… I don't feel like I need it."
"You jumped out of a four-story window. You told the doctor that if you weren't currently tied down you'd try again! You don't think you need therapy?!" Aizawa raised his voice. Izumi felt her eyes go wide; Aizawa cleared his throat and forced his emotions back down below the surface. "I apologize." He pushed his hair back from his eyes. "I didn't mean to yell, I just… Izumi. On some level, you have to know what you're doing- pushing everything away and bottling up your emotions to the point of exploding- isn't healthy."
Izumi looked down at her chest and just shook her head. "I-I-..." She just shook her head and sucked in a slow breath. "I've got nothing." She finally said. No excuse came to her mind.
Aizawa lowered his voice so it was just a tad softer than usual. "You're a smart girl, one of the top five in the class. You have to know…"
"Of course I know, Mr. Aizawa!" Izumi didn't mean to yell at her teacher but she had and the guilt she felt was instant. "I'm so sorry." She looked away from her teacher; wishing more than anything she could bring her hands to hide her face. "I-I didn't mean to snap. I just… I know what you're trying to say, Mr. Aizawa. I've cried every day this week. I've woken up from sleep crying, that's how bad it is. I can't eat, if I do I just throw it back up, I feel cracked and broken and-and-and…"
Aizawa sighed again, this sigh was elongated and sounded heavy. "Izumi… you need help. I mean actual psychological help, and I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this… but I can't let you back into UA until you get that help."
Izumi's heart stopped before breaking into tiny pieces right then and there. "I'm… expelled?" She whispered. Her voice shook a little and she felt tears perk into the corner of her eyes. She couldn't believe it, her fear, it came true.
"What? No. God no. Nedzu would probably go feral on me… Izumi, what I mean is: I want you to be…admitted to a youth psychiatric hospital for two weeks at the least. Before you have any complaints, just know that this is the best hospital in Japan. I've done my research. Also, your mother already sanctioned it."
Izumi was relieved, at first. Then when the words sunk into her brain. "A… psychiatric hospital… am… am I that far gone?" She whispered in shock.
'Like mother like daughter.' Aizawa could only think mirthlessly. "Izumi… you're not 'gone'. You're hurting and you need help. Help that… our staff isn't equipped to give you. But the hospital can."
"Bu-but… school work, and hero training, and working out-"
"Slow down. I'll be dropping your homework off, I'll also have someone in class writing your notes, Iida most likely, I'll bring you your homework and notes. You don't have to worry about that. As for hero training and working out. Consider this a mandatory pause period. I have an inkling you've been using working out as a clutch this past week anyways. Besides, you can't have weights in the hospital… they're kind of a hazard and could be considered a weapon by the staff."
Izumi blinked… before she laughed. A genuine laugh. She just wasn't expecting Mr. Aizawa to make such a dumb joke. "How long? How long do you want to be rid of me?"
"I told you. Two weeks is the minimum."
"Ah. Two weeks. You're going to be bored without your favorite 'Problem Child' to pester you." Izumi tsked her tongue and snapped her fingers… well… she tried to snap her fingers, but the cuffs made that a little hard.
It worked. Aizawa gave her just the teeniest smile. It was a win in Izumi's book. "I think I'll manage. Though, class will be a lot more quiet without your constant mumbles and mutters. However; I think Bakugo will probably be relieved."
"... Are you going to tell class 1-A?"
"Do you want me to?"
"... No. Please. I know that they'll probably find out, I mean Todoroki, Kaminari, and Ochaco will definitely know… but… I want this to be… as contained as possible. Please."
"The class will not know. If they ask I'll just tell them that information is classified and if they push I'll give them detention."
Izumi gave a weak nod. "Thank you…." She whispered softly to her teacher.
Aizawa leaned in a little. "Problem child?"
"Yes sir."
"I want to tell you two things. One-" He raised a finger. "-When you return to school you will no longer be allowed to be alone. The teachers will know to keep a close eye on you. The students just as well. I won't go into specifics with your peers, but will need to know that until you can be trusted you cannot be alone. At night there will be robots placed on your balcony and outside your door."
Izumi knew she was making a face.
"Don't give me that face. You made this bed."
"Doesn't mean it doesn't suck." She responded. "What's the second thing?"
He raised his second finger. "Number two: The teachers are here for you. Please, Izumi, get this through that smart, but thick, skull of yours. We are here for you. If you feel alone, if you're hurting, if you're having PTSD or night terrors. If you feel unsafe. Just tell us. Tell somebody. You're not alone. I really want you to know that."
"I-..." Izumi sucked in a deep breath to keep her emotions level. She didn't want to cry, she really didn't want to. "Thank you." She finally managed to say as she felt her lower lip quiver. She licked her lips before straightening herself up. "I'll try and keep that in mind for the future."
"I hope so. Now. I just have one more question to ask."
"Ask away."
Aizawa leaned in even farther. "Are you willing to talk to Detective Tsukauchi about what happened between you and Fujiwara? Yes, we have the videos and proof of stalking, but he needs a statement from you. He says it'll really seal the deal."
"Like… just the rape or-"
"All of it. Tsukauchi wants to know every interaction you had with Fujiwara."
"...I… I can talk to him…but… I have to ask."
"Yes?"
"Can… can my mom please be there with me!" Izumi squeezed her eyes tight and she clenched her fists. "I can't…I… just can't…" she wheezed out. A couple of tears made their escape and cascaded down her cheeks. Izumi tried to wipe them away, but all she really did was rattle her cuffs.
Aizawa's small frown was hidden behind his scarf. Izumi just looked so… broken. And, though Aizawa would never admit this out loud, it broke his heart to see her like this. He missed her smile and overall pep. "Legally, Inko Midoriya is required to be in the room while you talk to the Detective. So, I don't think that's going to be a problem."
"Oh…Oh thank goodness…" A soft breath left Izumi's mouth. "That…that makes me feel better." She swallowed a lump down in her throat. "Any chance they can get these off me?" She decided to push her luck a bit by wiggling her wrist.
"Ah. No. You're a flight risk and still under sucide watch. Those stay on until we transfer you to the psychiatric hospital."
"Worth a shot." She muttered softly.
"...Are you hungry?"
"I'm too scared to even attempt to stomach anything right now, Mr. Aizawa, but thanks for trying."
"Let's just try something light. Nothing heavy. You probably couldn't stomach heavy things anyways. Yogurt? I can get you that easily-"
"No offense, Mr. Aizawa, but if you try to spoon-feed me yogurt while I have functioning arms, I swear to god, I will find a way out of these cuffs and I will jump out of the window again."
Aizawa scoffed before letting out a shocked laugh. "And that's why you're currently cuffed. Also, I wasn't offering to spoon-feed you. I was going to get a nurse for that."
Izumi snorted a little at this. "I guess… if you're getting a nurse to do it, I can try to stomach something. Even if it is so degrading."
"Good." Aizawa slapped both hands down on the arm rests of his chair before standing. "I'll go get someone-"
"Real quick. How long am I going to be staying here? In this hospital, I mean. Asking because I don't know how much longer I can stand being cuffed to a bed."
Aizawa's gaze softened. "If all goes well, we're hoping to get you out of here sometime tonight. I already packed you a bag, so you don't need to worry about going back to the dorms."
Izumi felt her body relax just a little. "That's good… I'm still not sure how I feel about going to a psychiatric hospital in place of UA for the next two weeks, but, I'll be glad to get out of this hospital, that's for sure."
